Celebrating its silver jubilee in the food and beverage industry, gourmet food chain Jones The Grocer has announced plans to expand its footprint in the Middle East with 16 stores in the Saudi Arabia over the next 5 years. It plans to increase the number of its regional outlets from 23 to 33 in the next 12 months. In the UAE, the total number of outlets will then be 24 and three each in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. In the next phase, it plans to open 25 more outlets in three to five years. The stores in the second phase will be opened in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and one in India. Commenting on the company’s expansion plans in the Kingdom, Yunib Siddiqui, CEO and owner, said that Saudi Arabia is an important market for the company as it"s a regional economic powerhouse with strong domestic demand. “Recent changes in the regulatory environment has resulted in a significant uptick in domestic demand for food and beverage. There are many new and fantastic developments being constructed giving quality food retailers like us the opportunity to really showcase the best of what we can do,” he told Arab News . “We have 16 stores opening in the Kingdom over the next 5 years,” he said. He said three of the outlets will open in Riyadh within six months. “We’re also building and training a strong operational team. I should also say that we are extremely proud of our strong working relationship with our partner Naif Al-Rajhi Investments, in the Kingdom,” he added.